LOMAS ON STAGS: Slump not yet a crisis but depleted Mansfield need a positive result at Burton

But that could all change were they to lose at Burton Albion this Saturday.

The Brewers have dragged themselves up to the edge of getting out of the bottom four after only losing once in nine games and will be a very different animal from earlier in the season when little was going right for them.

And, of the four sides buffering Stags from Burton, there is every chance three of them could pick up points on Saturday with Peterborough and Bristol Rovers playing home games and Exeter City and Northampton Town up against each other.

If it all goes against them, Mansfield could be feeling the faint chill from the relegation trapdoor for the first time this season in a brutal division in which four, not three go down.

It would be very easy to panic.

So it is heartening that boss Nigel Clough has insisted he won't be changing the way his side tackle games – on the front foot and playing entertaining football – as that is what has proved successful so often this season.

His biggest handicap is the current injury list with a full XI in the treatment room ahead of the Burton trip with three of them facing operations and out for the season.

It is not the first time in recent seasons that Clough has had such bad luck with injuries.

Yet it was only a few weeks ago that the club were almost injury-free and the subs bench boasted a rich list of first team names with great options all over – and results were good.

That already seems a lifetime ago as Clough admits he may not even be able to fill that bench this weekend at his former club.

Pushing players back early is never a good idea and it is to be hoped Deji Oshilaja has recovered from his unexpected 45 minutes against Wrexham last weekend.

Matty Craig even pulled up in the half-time warm-up as he prepared for a cameo role in his return from injury, which summed up the day.

The patched-up side gave their all against the expensively-assembled Welsh side, pipped only 2-1, and they were rightly not booed at the end by an understanding home crowd.

Calum Macdonald's second minute own goal did not help matters, though he did make amends with the equaliser – both of them excellent finishes!

Stags had again hit back from adversity but just ran out of steam and ideas late on as Wrexham defended superbly for the win.

So now the Burton game does have that 'six-pointer' feel to it – especially being the first of three away games in Mansfield' next four.

Wigan Athletic, currently one point ahead of Stags, visit on Tuesday night – a game that will hugely swell in importance if Mansfield lose on Saturday – before trips to Stevenage and Exeter.

That means Stags face two more weeks of Saturday/Tuesday games which will further threaten squad numbers and fitness.

If they can get through that testing period, then they currently only face one more Tuesday night game this season, unless anything gets postponed, which will give the depleted squad a better chance to recover.

While fans have become excited by their promoted-side's fast progress at times this season and talked of potential play-offs, Clough has seen it all before and has always remained focused on his number one pre-season priority – safety from relegation.

He said this week that the club was where he expected it to be before the season started as promoted new boys with one of the smaller budgets.

So it is vital to keep the situation in perspective and remember Mansfield Town have not been promoted to this level and managed to avoid immediate relegation since 1987 – that is 38 long years ago.

If everyone sticks together and the players can somehow halt this current run and scrape three or four wins from the remaining 14 games, it would represent a proud triumph over adversity – again, a feat Clough is no stranger to from past clubs.

The confidence a win on Saturday could bring can barely be measured. It could be huge.